Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has ended all hopes of a bilateral series between India and Pakistan, emphasising that any such event hinges on resolving border issues among the neighbouring countries. Cricketing ties between the two arch-rivals have remained suspended in the wake of ongoing diplomatic tensions, restricting their encounters to fixtures backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Thakur, the former head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), expressed his views in an interview with Indian media, sharing the BCCI had already made a firm decision in the past not to engage in bilateral matches with Pakistan until border relations stabilise.

Following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law amendments case, around 2,000 graft cases — including those at the reference, complaint verification, inquiry, and investigation level — are expected to be restored, The News reported Saturday. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by outgoing Chief Justice Umar Bandia, with a 2-1 majority, struck down some of the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 by the previous coalition government, declaring it against the rights pertaining to public interest enshrined in the Constitution. Former prime minister Imran Khan had challenged the changes made to the accountability laws. After the apex court ruling, a number of cases are expected to be restored, including those against former president Asif Ali Zardari, six former prime ministers — Nawaz Sharif, Shaukat Aziz, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Shehbaz Sharif — and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Executive Committee (CEC) has voiced concern over what it called efforts to push the party to the wall, adding that the party should be provided with a level-playing field, The News reported Friday. While the CEC meeting, chaired by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Bilawal House in Lahore, underlined the delimitation of constituencies must be done if there is a need for them, it demanded that the upcoming general polls be conducted within the stipulated constitutional period. The PPP's CEC further asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce poll dates immediately. During the meeting, concerns were voiced over the ban on development projects in Sindh while they were being inaugurated in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PPP also voiced serious concerns over the grim economic situation in the country and termed elections key to solutions of all the core issues. Bilawal, on the occasion, announced that another sitting of the PPP CEC would take place on Friday (today).

The corruption cases against political bigwigs have been restored after the Supreme Court announced a major verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's petition challenging the amendments made to the country's accountability laws. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari and former premier Yousuf Raza Gillani are likely to face inquiries after the Supreme Court in a 2-1 verdict struck down some of the amendments made to the accountability laws. In the majority verdict today, the apex court restored graft cases against public office holders that were closed down following the amendments during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM-led) government.